The Frankish Reich

I'm not sure what any of that would do to actually aid Israel now. There may indeed be Intel failures on our part as well as on Israel's part, but now is not the time to be airing all of that. Biden came out strongly, unequivocally in support of Israel. That was the right thing to do at this critical moment. Everything else (money) can follow.

So what do you think he should be doing? Committing troops to the invasion of Gaza? Sending money/armaments to Israel? That one is the job of Congress, which of course has no Speaker of the House so nothing can be appropriated. So ... what?

Israel was attacked. We say it was by Hamas terrorists, but Hamas is in de facto control of the Gaza strip. In other words, it is the government of Gaza, and Hamas terrorists are therefore the Gaza army. Israel has a right to self defense, and that includes trying to eliminate the threat from that foreign aggressor. That includes going after Gaza/Hamas command and control sites, weapons stockpiles, and Gaza/Hamas terrorists/fighters. But you do make a good point: what is the endgame? Israel may cause another huge refugee crisis, and some of those Gaza residents are going to end up at the U.S.-Mexico border asking for asylum too. And at some point legitimate self defense butts up against illegitimate punishment of an entire population whether or not it had anything to do with the attacks on Israel. I think Biden is doing the right thing for now: expressing support for Israel and outrage at the terrorist operation. He is giving Israel some leeway for a legitimate counterattack in its exercise of self defense. But at least privately I hope he is telling Netanyahu that this is not anything goes. There need to be limits, and there needs to be a strategy beyond revenge.

So ... the question: You want to make America great again. What year would you revert back to if you had a magic wand? (We already saw that 1960 wasn't a great choice) I think the question is too big if we talk about everything in society. So I'll talk about the time period when I believe that governance and policy made the most sense. For me, that was the second Clinton administration, when Clinton moved to the center after the Republicans took the House. Balanced budgets. Post-Soviet affairs managed pretty well. Clinton signed a law in 1996 strengthening border enforcement and deterring illegal immigration. (that would be almost inconceivable with subsequent Democratic presidents). Strong economy. Not utopia in America, but problems were met with sensible policy responses.

Big picture: I questioned the wisdom of the U.S.-brokered deal in which Saudi Arabia would officially recognize Israel as a legitimate state. This is really a continuation of Trump's so-called Abraham Accords with minor Gulf states. Why question it? Well, because it upsets a delicate balance. It was seen as a provocation by Iran, and it is becoming pretty clear that Iran has a large role in funding and even training the Hamas militants. Hamas undertakes its largest terrorist action ever (by far). Israel responds by destroying Hamas' stronghold in Gaza. The Saudis feel like they must side with their Arab brothers under attack by Israel. The deal - which would have included nothing about the status of the Palestinians - falls apart. Iran wins.

49ers have gained a little separation here. The question was whether Brock Purdy would be figured out by defenses and hit a wall. He hasn't. They have the most talented roster, are well coached, and are remarkably healthy right now. In retrospect they were the best team in the NFL last year until Purdy went down and they were forced to go with emergency QBs. I would agree that Bills/Chiefs/Eagles are all about even, fighting for second best. And I'd be inclined to throw the Dolphins in there, although there's a lot more variability there. But the injury situation in the playoffs will not be the injury situation today, so that will have a huge impact.

Yes. It's not so much the time change, it's the early kickoff that doesn't take into account the players' circadian rhythms. But the NFL doesn't want that. It wants morning games in North America. That's probably even baked into the Sunday Ticket deal with YouTube, since that allows Youtube to offer all "Sunday afternoon" games exclusively, leaving the morning product to NFL network or whoever might bid for it.

Niners are the best team in the NFL and it's not even close

It sounds ridiculous, but ... a little reminiscent of Joe Montana?

So ... is Brock Purdy actually good? I mean, I've been like almost everybody else, saying it's a very talented offense, he distributes the ball effectively, doesn't try to do too much, knows his limitations, etc., etc. But at some point when a guy never has a bad game, don't we just have to say he's a really good QB?

EX wife. English ex-wife. Not that she traumatized me or anything ....

It's finally happened. They are really bad. Not mediocre like the last couple years after Brady left. Just plain bad. And the bright spot for Bills fans: unlike some of the other bad teams, there's really no turnaround in sight.

To be called Diggsian is indeed a great hono(u)r.

Iran will almost certainly get what it wanted: to derail the Saudi-Israeli-U.S. agreement. There is indeed a proxy war going on here, but it isn't a proxy war against the U.S. It is the war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, previously fought in places like Yemen.

Tommy Sweeney? Come on. I think he's at least as good as Tyler Kroft in that one game when he was healthy

What fun is there in blaming that?

No doubt. I can't post my self-hating anti-Buffalo rant because I'm sure I'd get banned.

As long as you don't invoke the name of The Beautiful South we'll be ok.

I thought the reference to my English ex-wife was enough of a tell that this is tongue in cheek ...

I'm just gonna say that some of this is proving my point - our British posters here seem to get sarcasm. (Or maybe it's satire. I always mix those up) Our Yankee posters, not so much 😀 I swear it all flowed out of me like Niagara as soon as I learned that they actually do roll out an inferior fake turf surface for non-soccer events ....

Ok, ok, I’ll admit it. I actually love your country. I just gotta blame something/someone for what happened today …

I spent a little time in France a long time ago. You know what their term is for bucked teeth? Les dents Anglais. English Teeth.

This has nothing to do with the Bills losing, and even less to do with the fact that my ex-wife is English. I swear. These are objective facts. 1. They are stupidly proud of their Greenwich Mean Time that wreaks havoc with travelers and American football teams. This made sense in 1880 when London was the figurative Center of the World. It is not 1880. Now YOU adapt. Go to Eastern Standard Time already. 2. They are stupidly proud of their Foreign Oligarch and Hedge Fund Manager League erroneously know as the English Premier League, so much so that they protect their precious English turf grass by making other events play on a substandard carpet that wouldn't be out of place in the indoor portion of a Walmart Garden Center. 3. They have a really nice launching spot for seeing the "the Continent" (they still talk of "going to Europe" as if they are a Caribbean island) but saw fit to ruin that by Brexiting and making all of that really inconvenient. 4. They are stupidly proud of their music scene, which no one cares about other than English people living abroad (which they do in millions, creating little Englands in every spot where the sun shines more than 60 days a year), and they continue to worship horrible acts like Cliff Richard and Oasis and the Kaiser Chiefs and all kinds of peculiarly English crap. They are also stupidly proud of their "English sense of humo(u)r" by which they mean "I will insult you in the most obvious manner possible whenever you say something remotely earnest so that all may bow to my rapier sharp wit." 5. The more recent arrivals in London and a few other cities will feed you well with tasty, complexly spiced dishes. But 90% of the territory will ooh and aah over heavy, greasy, tasteless dishes (so awful that even they have invented a word - "stodgy" - to describe their own cuisine) that you are expected to compliment your in-laws about as if they've just fed you a 4 star Michelin tasting menu. And heaven forbid you encounter these people around Christmas, where you will watch them howl with laughter at things like a Christmas Pantomime, a kind of childish joke play that appears to consist of putting the least feminine man possible in a dress, making a high pitched voice drowned out by howls of laughter. Oh, and then you can all gather round to watch the Queen's King's Christmas address, the same King who, in perhaps the least arousing sexting scandal ever, expressed his desire to be his horse-faced mistress's tampon. Really. Goodbye, old England. I hope Bills Nation never visits you again.

True. EPL requires real grass, but they won't let secondary events like concerts and NFL games ruin it. So they roll out an artificial turf field in Tottenham.

Not very.